Effective Ministry: a series...

Part Two

Some of the foundational points for being a effective minister of God:

1. Possessing a love for the Holy Spirit: "...for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in [your] prayers to God for me;" Romans 15:30

2. And, inspired by the Spirit of God a love for the Truth, through God's word: "...because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:10

3. Being influenced and inspired by love, though some be inspired by envy: "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel." Philippians 1:15-17 (see envy: "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers," Romans 1:29)

4. Testing the fruit of your love: "Therefore, as ye abound in every [thing, in] faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and [in] all diligence, and [in] your love to us, [see] that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love." 2 Corinthians 8:7-8

5. Walk in Love, doing that which is befitting: "But if thy brother be grieved with [thy] meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died." Romans 14:15

6. Learning to spot the blemishes on your love feasts: "These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds [they are] without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;" Jude 12; "And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, [as] they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots [they are] and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;" 2 Peter 2:13

7. Keeping love with faith and hope: "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God." 1 Thess. 1:3&4; "Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love [which ye have] to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel" Col. 1:4-5; "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:22-25

~

Part One

In modern Christendom there are two ministries for every parishioner; there are pastoral/elder ministries, feed-the-hungry-ministries, collect-the-tithe ministries, door-greeter ministries, etc... and there are street-preaching ministries. Though there are copious ministries, in order to be legitimately in the service of Christ they must they share one paradigm: they must be based upon Love.

This love 'agape' is not vague, and there are 8 characteristics which describe it, along with many sub-categories: affection, good will, benevolence, (John 15:13, Romans 13:10, 1John 4:18) brotherly love, especially the love of Christians for other Christians as prompted by their religion, (Matthew 24:12, 1 Co. 13:1-4&8, 1 Co. 14:1, 2 Co. 2:4, Gal. 5:6, Philemon 5,7), of the love of men towards God, (Luke 6:42, John 5:42), of the love of God for men, (Romans 5:8, Romans 8:39), of the love of God for Christ (john 15:10, John 17:26) and of the love of Christ toward men (John 15:9, 2 Co. 5:14, Romans 8:35, Eph. 3:19).

Now this love is not to be mistaken for the love of men for themselves, but the love of God and His Word, nor should we flippantly throw the word 'love' about as if it is some common buzz-phrase, knowing that our Lord's, and our God, blood was shed that we may boast in His abundant Love, not to mention those whom toiled, suffered and died under His banner of love.

Steven Styles - 4/29/2008

2008 Asparagus Festival

This weekend, we traveled to Stockton and preached the Gospel at the Asparagus Festival. Many of these types of food festivals are held throughout the late spring and summer here in the Sacramento Valley. Lord willing, we’ll preach at as many of them as we can. We stayed roughly four hours and passed out several thousand tracts.

As always it is an honor and great privilege to be witnesses for Christ, to testify of His Gospel. The beautiful thing about preaching the Gospel is that is it always based upon Faith. We believe that God’s word does not return void and that those whom hear the words of the Lord will be convicted of their sins; they will either repent or harden their hearts against God.  

What is most important is that we remain obedient to the calling, using the gifts which God has bestowed upon us.  The time is short; in this country the numbers are not only few but the day may come when the government will attempt to shut us down from publicly preaching the Gospel. It is important to use our time wisely… investing in the Kingdom of God, not in the things of earth.

Steven Styles - 4/28/2008

The Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galations 5: 22 & 23

America is a culture enamored with the word ‘love’. It is as if we somehow believe that if we repeat the mantra of ‘love, love, love and all you need is…” that somehow out outward works will reflect it.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Only those in Christ truly exhibit love; love comes from the spirit of God .

The fruit of the Spirit is not just love, however… though they are the result of love: love of God, love of His word and God’s love which He bestowed upon us for Himself and for the Church.  We as believers are patient because of love, were endure because of love, we are temperate and have peace because of Love.

This is not something which we have somehow attained in the flesh, but it is the gift of God and results from his Spirit dwelling within us. God has granted us faith and by faith we believe upon His word ; His puts in us His spirit and seals us unto the day of redemption. The wonderful aroma of the fruit of the Spirit emanates from that initial belief. We believe God and we obey.

Now, I have never met anyone whom has exhibited all the fruits of the Spirit at one time, but we are all a bit of a work in progress. God’s grace is sufficient for us. However, should we sin willfully, knowing that God’s love will overlook it, as the wicked do? (‘Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like…) These are not the fruit of the Spirit but that of the flesh. Those whom engage in such wickedness or approve of it do not have His Spirit, nor do they have even one ounce of Love within them.

 Steven Styles – 4/25/2008

Fortune Cookie

I cracked open my fortune cookie at the end of lunch. It was a double-fortune, one of those where the two little slips of paper are stuck together, thus increasing the fortunate good sayings always contained therein. One slip said, “Good news will come from far away,” and the other, “You are heading in the right direction.”

Being a Christian, I do not believe in fortunes. If these two fortunes were read by a wicked, godless, man who believes in omens, portents, witchcraft, spells, wizardry, spiritualism, occultism (they are legion), he would consider this yet another good fortune of his, a hopeful reading of his future because he is convinced he is O.K. and heading in the right direction. He also hopes, as does any sane person, for good news from a far country.

Nonetheless, the two fortunes were correct for me. This is not because the fortunes have any power, but because even if they were evil and pessimistic, or even if they cursed me, I know that good news is coming from far away, and that I am heading in the right direction.

Jesus Christ is Lord of all and he knows me and controls all the fortune cookies out there. It is too bad that some fortune cookies don’t tell the truth about the wicked, whose fortunes are not good, but horrible. However, our faith in Christ leads in the right direction via the good news of the gospel. I can rejoice if the fortune cookie says everything is O.K., because in Christ, everything is O.K.

How very fortunate I am!

P.S. I pass out little pieces of paper (called tracts) on the streets that warn the wicked to repent. I figure this is the least I can do if I’m fortunate and they are going to hell. How else can I live with them? How can I ignore their end? How else can they become righteous, but through faith in Jesus Christ?

Chris Simonson - 4/24/2008

A Response to Earth Day...

“When I first conceived of Earth Day, a global holiday to celebrate the wonder of life on our planet, I thought long and hard about the day on which it should fall. It must be meaningful. One that might be accepted universally for all of humankind. When the Vernal Equinox dawned on me, I immediately knew it was right. The Earth tremor that shook our California dwelling at that moment seemed an omen of confirmation. What could be more appropriate than the first moment of Spring, when day and night are equal around the world and hearts and minds can join together with thoughts of harmony and Earth's rejuvenation. Just as a single prayer can be significant, how much more so when hundreds, thousands, millions of people throughout the world join in peaceful thoughts and prayers to nurture neighbor and nature. And so it came to pass we initiated the celebration of Earth Day on March 21, 1970. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the City of Saint Francis, patron saint of ecology.” - John McConnell, “founder of Earth Day” as quoted from his website.

I must note the tendency for people to worship earth instead of earth’s creator. As far as these nature-worshipers go is to feel that god loves them if there is one. Mr. McConnell in his “77 Theses,” says in Thesis 67: “ That most conflict over religious and ideological beliefs have their roots in different hypotheses about the unknown. Does God exist? What is the nature or purpose of reality?” He says we must avoid such conflict by loving mother earth, Thesis 72: “That every adherent of ethics or religious faith should act as a responsible Trustee of Planet Earth: join the global Earth Trustee Effort and assist some Earth Care project.” He concludes:
“77. THEREFORE, LET US PLEDGE OUR LIVES AND FORTUNES TO AID THE GREAT TASK OF EARTH'S REJUVENATION, AND WITH CONFIDENCE AND FAITH, EACH DO OUR PART AS A TRUSTEE OF EARTH TO TAKE CHARGE AND TAKE CARE OF OUR
PLANET.”

So, instead of worshiping God, whoever or whatever that might be, we should worship that which we do know, the planet earth. By this we might be worshiping the true god, who knows? This is merely one avenue for men to think they are gods themselves, and definitely in keeping with witchcraft’s traditions. If we read Romans 1, we see that worship of created things is totally against God, and he turns his wrath out upon those who exchange the proper use of the creation for their own lusts. He will even destroy this earth and those who worship it.

It is interesting that John received confirmation of his calling from the Northridge earthquake. He calls it an “omen of confirmation.” The Bible speaks of the earth and gods this way: “They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.” From Psalm 82.

Chris Simonson - 4/22/2008

Spanking is not illegal...

... but to talk to most Christians today, they either think it is, or that it is not right, or that it is not required.  The Bible is clear on the subject of spanking.  What is not clear is the interpretation of what the Bible has to say on anything.  Christians are divided over almost every subject except "God loves them."  This is because they think they "love Jesus" even as they disobey the Bible, whether or not Jesus said so in red letters.

They need a good spanking.  If they are really God´s, then they are being spanked right now (Hebrews 12:7, Revelation 3:19).  It would have been better if, when they were little, their mothers spanked them when they sassed her, when they lied, when they did naughty things.  They might have grown up godly. The fathers dare not even hint they are going to spank their children today, because their Christian wives rule over them and will find fault and maybe they will divorce the husband over it.  Maybe? 

California continues to leap ahead and their Assembly Public Safety Committee passed a bill, AB 2943, that makes it a crime to spank children with even a rolled up newspaper, among other deadly objects.  I don´t know how a person can really spank a child with a rolled up newspaper, but hey, they love their dogs and wouldn´t be cruel to them, so a child must be better than a dog, right? (Admittedly, some of them don´t think so).  Either way, today´s children may grow up to be as bad as their parents, who will all go into hell if they don´t repent.

They tried this last year but the bill was stopped while still in Assembly.  The people who invent these laws are mockers of God.  Why shouldn´t they be on a committee that says they protect people from harm?  They appear to be nice little sheep worried about poor little kids who don´t have a bad bone in them.  The church, before the 1850´s or so, knew that children tended to be rebellious and had to be disciplined.  The Enlightenment changed all that.  Nowadays you can´t tell a Christian from a Buddhist, except maybe the outward trappings. 

Spanking is not illegal in the United States.  It may be in California soon.  The mock "Christians" should be pleased that the government will be putting gentleness and kindness on the books, the kind that leads to eternal damnation.

In the meantime, the foundation of God stands firm, having this seal:  The Lord knows those who are His, and let those who name the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 2 Timothy 2:19.  Be zealous therefore, and repent.

Chris Simonson - 4/21/2008

Pillbox Pope

Aka, "bullet-proof Joe" will showcase in New York City this month for American devotees and detractors alike. 

Jesus Christ was displayed on a cross, so that all who look upon him can be healed of their diseases.  In order to be so portrayed, He had to die.  Pope Benedict has turned this around, betraying his own oath to follow Christ.  His `popemobile´ affords him the opportunity to be seen by millions and yet not get shot or otherwise nailed. 

This affords him complete separation from sinners and yet gets him the honor that Jesus Christ rejected.  When he walked the earth, Jesus did not allow the people to make him king over them, because he knew what was in their hearts.  He knew they wanted to kill him.  He knew this and submitted to the punishment that was due them.  He did this because He came into the world to save sinners.  If they will repent and believe that they deserve the punishment, not Jesus, and that Jesus died for them, they will be saved.

Those who reject this simple gospel will turn to other methods of salvation.  They will swoon when the ensconced and mitered pope passes by.  Sealed in his glorious gleaming bullet-proof vicar vestibule, he will be deaf to the screams of the doomed even though microphones and speakers are strategically placed. 

God is not deaf. He hears the cries of those who want to be saved.  Even though they can´t see Him or touch Him, He is not far away from them.  He is not `just visiting´ the United States for a few days.  He is everywhere present and ready to receive sinners if they will only confess their sins and repent.

God is not hiding, although he is invisible.  By faith, we can come to him and feel about for him and he will reveal himself to us.  If we seek another way of salvation, there will be plenty of popes and pretenders to lead us astray.  Jesus Christ does not need the protection of Plexiglas or mobile pillboxes to get around safely.  And he is not in Vatican City or off on some planet.  He is ever present, a very near help in time of need.

Let the world make a big deal about religions and their leaders.  Let them call themselves Christians.  Let them come as wolves in sheep´s clothing.  But let us, the redeemed of the Lord, say, "Jesus Christ is Lord!"  and let us not be afraid of what man can do to us.

Chirs Simonson - 4/15/2008

The Last Testimony of Mr. Jones   

I felt the icy chill as the 8,000-foot Sierra air cut through my Hoberg-Jones Parka with the patented moisture control lining.  I was glad that I had also decided to purchase the High Alt Jumpsuit, along with  the Trudger Hybrid boots. Without my special outfit on, I doubt if I could stand the cold at all. As I trudged the last few feet to my 2008 Hindenburg 4-wheel all-terrain-family-fun-and-serious-backwoods Rover, I felt a surge of tremendous relief and gratefulness for my relationship to God. He had seen to it that I had been supplied with only the best equipment and vehicles. I felt truly blessed.  Mixed with that emotion, I also felt an equally terrible sense of sympathy for the poor souls who had to live in this terrain, with just their clothes and tents to protect them from the frigid, winter season.

I made it to the Rover. My fingers, almost numb with the cold  (except that I had the finest gloves that money can buy, the famous skin-tight Mollucks by Virge, Inc.), found the keyless and pressed the button. I heard the homey bell and the door popped open despite the heavy coat of frozen ice, thanks to the fact that I had decided to buy that option. I jumped elatedly inside and started the engine. 

No problemo! The ignition started right up, and thank you God, the heater was on and working fine. 

As I began to thaw out, I thought of the verse “Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”  So, I considered how horrible it must be out there in the cold with nothing more than a few clothes and a flimsy tent. They must be freezing! At the thought, I felt chilled and instinctively turned up the heat on the now toasty Climate-Perfect controls. I reached for my Jesus Loves You Food Buddy. Ah, now that’s living! There inside were the best looking ham and cheese sandwiches a person could ever want to make a quick meal of. And there was my hot coffee in the vacuum-sealed chrome canister. Perfect. Now I could relax and think about my blessings. 

When I finished off the last sandwich with the final gulp of coffee, I knew it was time to go.  

I put the old girl in 4-wheel drive and she took off with grace and power. I pulled out onto the highway that now had about a foot of new snow.  The wind continued to blow a few flakes, but the storm had mostly subsided.  I had not obtained what I had come for, but I was now ready to go home, back to my 4,000 sq. ft. domicile I call home. I could almost feel the spa water lapping on my chest. I would fire up the 57-inch T.V. and watch a good Christian movie. This would help relieve the images I had seen of the camps of the poor aborigines. I saw some of them hitchhiking even as I started down the final grade. Poor souls, I wonder where they thought they were going. There are laws in force that stop them from trampling over the good land of the law-abiding citizens from where I come. It is a good thing we have strict laws about not picking up hitchhikers.

While thus contemplating my good fortune, I was caught completely by surprise when the tree fell on my vehicle! It was a good-sized tree; good enough to squash the hood down into the engine.  They tell me if it had been a split second later, the tree would have crushed down the cab and me with it. The windshield cracked but held. I must admit, I was shocked from my reverie. I was only going about 15 miles an hour, but now I wasn’t going anywhere. I instantly thought of God. I prayed “Lord, please get me out of here as quickly and painlessly as possible.” 

Almost as soon as I had finished praying, even while the engine was still running, some of the hitchhikers I had passed up came running up to my vehicle. They came up to my window, which I made sure was rolled up.  They have a certain smell about them, and it is illegal to smuggle anything in or out of their reservations. A couple of them were shouting to me, but I could not make out what they were saying over the Songs of Praise XXXIV CD I was playing ( I had turned up the volume so I could concentrate on the goodness of the Lord ). Then they began to tug on the tree. There were about 4 or 5 of them, but it was kind of hard to tell, what with the snow flurries and the tree in my face. One of them looked to be a young woman; another was an old man with a long, unkempt beard. They all wore monkish cloaks so it was hard to tell.

It may be hard for you to believe, but just these few people were able to pull that huge tree off my vehicle. They had no equipment like chainsaws, of course, so the task was somewhat of a miracle.  I could have saved them some trouble if they weren’t so anxious to help me. I have a real nice winch set-up on my front bumper. The Hindenburg, although seriously smashed, was in perfect running order. It’s hard to damage one to point of keeping it off the road. I thanked God right then and there for protecting me and answering my prayer. He was even using the heathen to provide for me. 

Having been freed of the bulk of the tree, I backed up. I actually hit one of the helpers with my rear bumper, but he was knocked clear of any real injury. Showing their typical crudity, he began to shake his fist at me, mouthing no doubt some obscenity.  God will certainly judge these unstable souls. They think that by helping someone they’re going to heaven, but they don’t understand that they must just love Jesus in their hearts and it makes no difference what good deeds they do. I smiled appreciatively at them and pointed to my Jesus Loves You window decals. I looked around for something to pay them back with. The only food remaining in my lunchbox was a couple of apples. I quickly rolled down by window and threw them out into the snow. I also threw a pamphlet out there telling them that Jesus loves them and all they have to do is say the sinner’s prayer. 

Typical of these unrefined people they managed to toss a small piece of paper back into my vehicle before I had gotten the window back up.  I rolled on out of there, making sure everyone was O.K. ( the person I had accidentally bumped was limping a little but getting around just fine.  I prayed to God to make him learn to have more respect and also to help him get over his tiny injury quickly.  I am sure God heard me because I really love that person in my heart ). I noticed that the apples were gone, so they must have been richly blessed by my generosity. I understand that they don’t get much fresh fruit or vegetables up here. If they would turn to God, I’m sure they would do better. 

I drove easily around the mass of the tree, got back onto the road, and made the rest of the trip safely. I am now back at my comfortable home, relaxing in the spa. The piece of paper they threw into my vehicle I put into my shirt pocket. I can see it sticking out. I reach over and pull it out to read it. It is two sentences “Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, In as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. – Matthew 25:45,46.” This made me feel all the more blessed. Someone is getting the Scriptures to them, even if they don’t know what they mean. Also, it was clear to me that God was also confirming to me how righteous I am apart from any works and that I am going to life eternal based solely upon my heart’s love for Him. Besides, I think maybe they were thanking me for the two apples. Praise God!  

That’s funny, the remote control on the TV isn’t working.  I guess I’ll lean over and turn on the TV..."   

Chris Simonson - 4/14/2008

God´s Organizational Chart

Our local governance body met to discuss the financial woes facing the county. As I listened, it became apparent we are bogged down by bureaucracy, and the solution is to increase bureaucracy, at least as far as the city council was concerned.

One councilwoman put it thus: "No one is at fault. Everyone is doing the best job they can."  Her solution was to reorganize and produce another organizational chart. They have been desperately drawing reorg charts for years now. 

The podium was opened to the public for three minute speeches. One of them said that the problem was that the bureaucrats found pleasure in messing with the public, enjoying their rule over the outsiders. Another said that another organizational chart is unnecessary, but hire a person who has the ability and the authority to direct the department heads. This person will figure out the organization needed, not the council.

Both of these comments were solidly dismissed.

This is happening throughout the United States of America and in many countries where men have lost the ability and the authority to direct even their own homes. Women rule over them and children are their oppressors, as Isaiah said so many years ago (Isaiah 3).

This all sounds so pessimistic and chauvinistic, Oprah might say. Well, the good news is that God doesn´t go by men´s or women´s organizational charts. He has his own chart. He is the head of Christ, Christ is the head of man, and man is the head of the woman. When these things are obeyed, then a society grows strong. When they are ignored or rebelled against, the society grows in wickedness. God allows this so he can bring judgment against all the ungodly for their ungodly deeds.  Whole civilizations go under and are hardly remembered because of God´s judgment against them. 

The church, the body of Jesus Christ of which He is the Head, cannot go under. This doesn´t mean the visible churches aren´t going to be trashed, but that his people will be protected and come out smelling like a rose in the end. That´s an organizational chart that cannot be understood by men, but we trust that God knows his own and his own know Him.

Chris Simonson - 4/12/2007

Gossip, Lies & Hate

The Church, the Body of Christ, is made of several members whom have various gifts; some gifts are different from our own but are all useful for the Body. The hand cannot turn to the eye and say: ‘why can’t you be more like a hand?’... neither can the eye turn to the foot and say: ‘I wish to be a foot.’

The Body of Christ works best when Love and Patience are at work.  The thing which tears down the Body is a gossiping, backbiting, lying tongue. This is one of the reasons why Paul instructed Timothy to encourage the women of the church to keep busy and not to be idle.

“As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.” 1 Tim. 5:11-15

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:6

The tongue, like the rudder of a ship, steers the entire vessel and can be used for great damage to the Body of Christ. With just a small spark, one can burn down a huge forest. This fire is heated by the flesh and fanned by the Enemy, attempting to destroy all in its path. It divides good friends and causes strife and confusion among the Brethren.

Many times these gossips will cloak themselves in the mantle of friendship, only to take gathered information and spread everywhere evil surmising. Malicious gossip is sung in the town squares by drunkards. A gossip goes around revealing secrets which have been shared in confidence. The Bible likens gossip to tasty treats, which go down into a person’s innermost being.

These gossip-sparked quarrels and fires from Hell continue to burn as long as gossipers cease not their tale-bearing. Day and night they spread evil rumors and lies with total disregard for their family, friends, the Church or for the Lord, Himself.    

Gossips refuse to acknowledge God’s righteousness, His justice or His holiness; they refuse to obey His word. Gossip is found in the list of sins committed by those whom God has given over, along with envy, murder and hate:  “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.” Romans 1:29-32

In Proverbs, the Bible tells us that once a gossip is found out, never again can said person regain their good reputation. Gossip is associated with hate throughout the Scriptures, fuelled by bitterness and envy and evidenced with strife. Such vicious hatred only has one goal in mind: to inflict the maximum amount of damage and hurt one deeply. Those whom lay in gossip hate their brethren; they dwell so in the darkness and are blinded by the darkness and led by devilish spirits.

The righteous, however, abide in the light of God’s word and do not seek to stumble their brethren.

Many of the fruits of gossip are spelled out in the seven things the Lord hates, and finds detestable: “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” Proverbs 6:16-19

Steven Styles - 4/08/2008

March 2008 India Ministry Report:

Dear beloved Steven,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

I am very much glad in the Lord Jesus to write you, thank you very much for your kind prayers and encouragement towards our poor ministry. By the Grace of God and by your fervent prayers we are doing His work faithfully and sincerely.

I and my team brothers are regularly attending to the ministry and conducting cottage prayers, street Gospel meetings, tracts distribution, street Evangelism, Gospel Crusades, youth meetings, children Bible class and praying for the sick etc., our vision and burden is Gospel work and help the poor.

In fact we always need your kind prayers and encouragement to do His work more. I hope through your kind prayers and encouragement we are able to do His work more. We always engaged preaching the word of God where even today there is no Gospel and helping the poor providing them food, cloths etc., we are doing all these works by your kind prayers and encouragement. In fact without your precious sacrifices and your kind efforts we do nothing. I am hoping in the further we can do more work for the glory of God in India by your fervent prayers and encouragement. Really it is a great encouragement to work with you always to change the dark and bring the people into LIGHT.

Some of the young preachers willing to work with us to reach the unreached. In fact they are very much interested to our hard work. I hope that Lord will open more doors to encourage these preachers for His Kingdom.

We have three days Gospel Crusades in Peddavarm village, Krishna District April 15, 16, 17. 2008. Here in these villages one of brother Gananadam working since few years on faith lines. This is very important for us to conduct Gospel Crusades in this place. We start to conduct Gospel Crusades in this village in 2004. Our first Gospel Crusades dates April 5, 6, 7 2004, I have attached to you these Gospel Crusades photos. Since from that onwards we are conducting and many souls saved. Here in this villages our brother Gananadam working among the strong Hindus very hardly since few years and this village of Peddavarm is very remote village we can reach this village only by own vehicles or private vehicles. Please kindly pray for these Crusades and see it details.

Place of Crusades: Peddavarm Village, Krishna District A.P India

Dates: April 15, 16, 17 April 2008

Timings: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Bible class for youths, 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm tracts distribution. And 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm Gospel Crusade.

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We are giving food freely for 300 people for these 3 days, because some are coming from long places.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."  Isaiah 61:1-3 

The Lord’s work went well in March 2008 we have distributed thousands of Gospel tracts and visited many villages, by walking, bicycles and motorcycles. Many people are rejected the Gospel and trying to beat us. Although some are accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and taken Baptism. In March 2 people are saved and 6 people are healed from different disease. Please kindly read the details of March News.

                             MINISTRY NEWS OF MARCH 2008

                        1 – Mar – 08 Saturday to 7 – Mar – 08 Saturday.

During in this week we have conducted two days street Gospel meetings in Rachuru village and worked its surrounding villages. Two days meetings went well, above 100 people are attended and hear the Word of God with much interested. In this village of Rachuru and its surrounding villages we distributed 1600 tracts house to house, person to person and invite them street meeting. In fact since many years I am praying to work here, God wonderfully open doors to work there. We need to work there again. Please kindly for these villages.

                        10 – Mar – 08 Monday to 15 – Mar – 08 Saturday.

During in this week we had conducted two days street Gospel meetings in Naluru palem villages and visited some other villages. We had distributed 3400 tracts and visited 4 villages. Here almost all people are Hindus and Muslims, 380 kms we travel by motor cycles and walked 48 km and by bicycle 124 km traveled.

In Naluru palem two days street meetings above 40 people are attended. In fact they are very much like to hear the Word of God. After meeting over we prayed for the sick people with your anointed oil then the people are healed from different diseases of terrible pain of legs, head pain, and healed from the skin disease. Now really they were all very much happy for good health.

                        17 – Mar – 08 Monday to 21 – Mar – 08 Friday.

During in this week we had worked among the fisher men, we went the fisher men area conducted day time prayer meeting on the trees. These fishermen day times repair their nets. We talked to them and gathered in one places preached the Gospel to them, almost all illiterates. Very hardly we gathered them and very clearly we preach the Gospel and prayed for the sick people. 4 days we worked among them, by the Grace of God and by your fervent prayers two people are accepted Jesus Christ as their personal. Please kindly for these fishermen. In fact they are living in very poor condition, almost all their houses small huts and cover their huts with cloths.

                     24 – Mar – 08 Monday to 31 – Mar – 08 Monday.

During in this week are unable to conduct Gospel Crusades in Anantpur District, because have no sufficient help. But we had worked among the tribal community, who are living in forest area. Here people also very poor community living under trees and small huts. By your kind help we had given food and clothes in November and December 2007. We visited very one and arrange cottage prayer meeting. Really they are very much interested to hear the Word of God. We often visiting them and encourage in Word of God.

Prayer Requests: -

1. For Coming Up Gospel Crusades in Peddavarm village on 15,16,17 April, 2008. For its cost Rs  26880/-  (340 Pounds)
2. For 400 Amplifier its cost Rs 15600/- (197 Pounds)
3. For to buy generator (power supplier) its cost Rs 32000/- (405 Pounds)
4. For to buy to speakers its cost Rs 2800/- (35 Pounds)

In fact there is a lot of work to do. In fact we always need your kind prayers and encouragement to do His work more. I hope through your kind prayers and encouragement we are able to do His work more.

Please kindly pray for us, we are praying for you and your kind services. Awaiting for your kind reply soon.

Yours in His Services,

Katta.Edukondalu - Pastor

Judge Not

Due to recent upgrades in philosophy, psychology and religion, when someone does something wrong, we are not to question his motives, nor are we to ponder the possibility that his actions will bring evil into our lives. We are to love him by not "judging him."  As a result, when we confront the typical liar, thief and cheat, he has a pat response.

What does the adulterer say when questioned?  "You can´t judge me!"

What does the thief say when he is caught?  "You can´t judge me!"

What does the talebearer say when exposed?  "You can´t judge me!"

What does the liar say when his lie comes to light?  "You can´t judge me!"

What is the modern Christian taught to say (by his pastor) when questioned about his faith?

Chris Simsonson - 4/07/2008

Do You Love Me? 

"15. So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16. He saith to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Tend my sheep.

17. He saith unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

Jesus, three times, questions Peter’s loyal commitment of love for him, the Master. Peter, having previously sinned by disobedience and denying Christ in the past was reflective of this in his response back to Christ, and Christ responding more vehemently, to make the point known: ultimate love is to love Christ, to revere Him supremely, above all else in a believer’s life.

Men have a tendency to rely on their ability to communicate, their job security or other worldly ambition; not to dismiss these things as being evil or sinful, but that Jesus said, Do you love me more than these things?, possibly referring to Peter’s career as a fisherman.

Likewise, if one says that he ‘loves’ his wife and does many things and yet does not love Christ first and foremost, with the fruits of obedience, then he does not truly love Christ, but simply shows human love when he is ‘loved’ back.

Jesus focused on ‘feed my sheep’ as the Shepherd showing love to the sheep by ministering through the Word of God. The gospel, the ultimate demonstration of Love through the Cross, is the power of God in one’s life to bring change, reconciliation and godly submission.

It is common in modern 'Christian' martial counseling to lay down human behavioral principles as a method of solving differences. These psychological principles may even make sense and show temporary results, but, in a long term marriage, these philosophies merely suppress the flesh conditionally. For illustration purposes, I can go out to my garden and cut weeds all day and show the results of my work in a big pile of green and a nice, clean looking garden, but if in my foolishness, I neglect to pull those roots out it will merely grow right back two weeks later, to my own shame, and I have accomplished nothing and am doomed to repeat the process. It is only the Word of God, through the Spirit of God that can transform our sin nature, and as a result, obedience and peace. 

As Jesus said, "If you love me, obey my commandments."

Jesus has commanded us to feed His sheep with the word of God. It is only through the word of God that we have a passion for God, for how else would we know about Christ if not for the Scriptures.

It is man’s impulse to communicate the Word of God through human examples; this is particularly true when it comes to marital counseling. Not that this is sinful in principle, and occasionally it may be helpful in illustration purposes, such as the story of pulling weeds in my garden, but if it becomes the habit for when brethren meet together to do this, it pulls away from the Scriptures and obedience to Christ, which leads to works away from the grace of our Lord Jesus.

God has placed us in a day when evil has beset the Church; the Scripture refer to the church of Laodicea as lukewarm and about ready to be spewed from the mouth of Christ. The Scriptures speak of the love of most growing cold, that false prophets would appear, claiming to be Christ, and that the days would wax worse and worse, that men would gather to themselves teachers who would itch their ears, that people would revile against the Lord, taking the grace of Christ and turning it into lasciviousness, that such people are clouds without rain, that they would be like waves foaming up their own shame and it if it is possible, that even the elect would be deceived.

We see the evidence of this in many ways: the visible church has more or less accepted homosexuality under the guise of ‘love’, allowing women to rule over their houses and their children to become their oppressors, sexual perversions, adulteries, fornications and divorce are rampant in the visible church. Most of this corruption has occurred in the last thirty years.

"For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

22. It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire." (2 peter 2:21&22)

Knowing the grievous and frightful condition of the visible church, out of love for the Church, we should strive to teach and preach consistently from the Word of God, as being the power and authority to change hearts and minds, and through Christ bring the forgiveness of sin. We should not depend on or turn to anecdotical stories or philosophies which have no power and do not have the authority of the word of God; today's 'christian' leader's methodology confuses the sheep with anecdotical stories and philosophies that eclipse the Scriptures and 'water down' the gospel of Christ. 

" Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.

9. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you." James 4:7-10

This is not a time for joy, but one of mourning in sackcloth and ashes for the condition of the visible church, fearing the God who does not look favorably on such sins but commands men everywhere to repent. Our liberty and freedoms in Christ should be checked, so to not be as these people, who eat, drink and are merry and who exhaust the patience of our Lord through their continual disobedience.

It is an essential Scripture for men when Jesus proposed to Peter: "Do you love me?", and said, "Feed my sheep.", for men are the head shepherds of their house and are responsible for feeding their lambs; likewise, men who minister to the Church are responsible for the condition of the flock, and must desist from any ‘slight-of hand’ maneuver of giving the Scriptures credence then withdrawing it out of their own insecurity or pride, to the confusion and ultimate destruction of their flock. 

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and obey." The sheep are hungry for the word of God; they desire the meat of the Word, the nourishment of the Scriptures. So often, 'christian' clergy in this generation, in an attempt to correct the shipwrecked church through moralism, ‘encouragement’ and marital counseling have devised doctrinal plans, materials and systems on a non-Biblical structure in hopes to counteract the transgressions of this age. Yet, all these things do is place burdens and weights that men cannot bear, when Christ instead made it very simple: "feed my sheep".

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God; without the hearing of the word of God all that’s left is moralism and self-righteousness, standing on the deck of the sinking Titanic with the mormons, catholics and jehovahs witnesses, fiddling out in unison a heartwarming tune.

Feed my sheep, which is directly applying the word of God consistently, in season and out of season, when convenient or not, whether in marriage counseling or men’s Bible studies; as a result comes peace and unison in doctrine with our brethren.

Steven - 4/02/2008

Dispensationalism In a Nutshell

Dispensationalism, dispensational, dispensation, Dispensationalists... what are these things, and what are they doing in my soup?

"We believe that God does different things in different ways to different peoples with a different content of salvation as revealed in the Scriptures. We are careful not to interpret Scripture dispensational-ly but to interpret it literally. We believe that Dispensationalism is the logical product of literal interpretation."

This is a quote from a real Dispensationalist (I will henceforth abbreviate all occurrences of "Dispensationalist" as "D"). Whether this person is a spokesman for the entire movement, or just an honest appraiser of his belief system, I don’t know, but I agree that this sentence pretty well sums up the viewpoint of all D’s. Dear reader, you may not know that you are a D, but if you agree with the above quote, and you live in the 21^st century, then you probably are one.

The classic D breaks down history (and the future) into epochs concerned with God moving in different ways upon different people. We all, even those of us who don’t buy into various methods of salvation ("content" as he calls it) , know that God moves in different ways upon different people. This does not mean anything other than we were half awake during history class. But when we start breaking down history (and the future) into dispensational epochs, we are D’s and it doesn’t matter if we ever heard of the term D. If we are a D, then we believe that God has different plans for salvation for different ages, most likely seven dispensations to be exact. This has not been classic Christianity until recently, but is now rampant throughout the churches.

Let us look at the phrase, "literal interpretation." Sounds nice and theological. But before we do, here’s another nice-sounding phrase from one of the classical works of Dispensationalism, The Late Great Planet Earth: "These men [D’s] used what may be called the golden rule of interpretation which the Biblical record of fulfilled prophecy indicates is correct. ‘When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.’" Hal Lindsey then gives credit to David L. Cooper for writing this. I give Hal credit for making this saying axiomatic for the Late Great Christian Religion.

Hal Lindsey didn’t make this up. Tim LaHaye and his Left Behind series didn’t make this up. Who made this up? Paul the apostle didn’t develop anything along this line. Neither did Peter. John wrote Revelation, which D’s really love to get their hands on, but he never taught anything about literal interpretation, either. About the closest we come to anybody saying anything about how to interpret the Bible is Peter, who said, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, for no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20). In contrast to this, we see D’s holding up "common sense" as the key to interpreting scripture.

So who got this whole "literal interpretation" thing rolling? I don’t have the foggiest notion. Well, we know that Darby was successful at disseminating these ideas. Then Scofield made it big. But instead of tracing the lineage of this flavor of Bible interpretation, and before we investigate the meaning of it, I will just ask the question: What made this movement so big? I suggest that what made Dispensationalism so widespread was the "Jesus People" movement in the 1960's and 70's. Without going in to proving that, let’s just say that Calvary Chapel is a main promulgator of the doctrine. Because the movement is so well-funded and well-promoted, it is hard to go to any church nowadays that doesn’t have its devotees of Tribulation Force, or whatever. There are books out there that criticize Dispensationalism, and if you have the time, go ahead and read them. But instead of leaping into classical Dispensationalism by examining whether or not world events fit into the pigeonholes presented by Scofield, Darby, Hal Lindsey and others, let us look at the quote "… Dispensationalism is the logical product of literal interpretation." Therein lies the crux of this system, and therein lies the problem.

Literal interpretation sounds like a good way to interpret anything. If the stop sign ahead says STOP, then one should literally stop. Many traffic tickets have proven the literal interpretation of highway patrolmen in this matter. One could argue that the interpretation of the HP is one of tradition, but one must pay the ticket anyway. As they often say, "We don’t write the laws, lady, we just enforce them."

But to interpret the Bible literally could mean anything. Jesus said, "Pluck out your right eye," didn’t he? We don’t see many D’s taking this literally. I will go on. Jesus said, "Go and sell all that you have and give the money to the poor and come, follow me." Any takers? There are quite a few others. Now, the D will tell us that we cannot take those passages literally, even though they are quite clear and not in any special passages about future events or other prophetic verse. They will say "the context clearly indicates otherwise" and they’re through. However, the meaning of these scriptures are well-attested to in other parts of the Bible, Old Testament included. Luke, the gospel writer, is so bold as to even quote the very Lord Himself without editorializing. When Jesus says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife…" etc., Luke does not apologize nor interpret (he leaves that up to modern theologians). He just accurately transcribes what Jesus said over and over again: You must bear a cross to go on with Me.

So, with disregard to the literalness of these passages, these same D’s will assure us that poetic and prophetic passages in the Old Testament are to be taken literally (not understanding the power of the Scriptures dealing with the Church and the Holy Spirit).

Their sort of "literal" interpretation goes against the writers of the New Testament anyway. The writers of the New Testament were used by God to explain the nature and meaning of the Old Testament writings in light of the advent of Jesus Christ. If Hal Lindsey and his cadre of prophet-interpreters can outdo Paul and Peter, then we have new apostles on the scene and we should pay closer attention to them. But I am assured that Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles and he can more than clear up end times prophecies for us. But today, we have many who feel bold to do one better than Paul himself. Or Peter, or John.

Paul evidently had problems interpreting the scriptures literally. In one passage, he takes a very literal law and adapts it to an issue on which the Lord himself spoke: "For it is written in the Law of Moses, ‘you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.’ Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope… Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel" (from 1 Corinthians 9). That’s quite a stretch for a D. Am I quoting Paul out of context? I think not. In 1 Corinthians 10 (I believe it’s the same Paul writing to the same church), Paul says, "Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." What things is he talking about? And then he goes on to interpret those things in context of the gospel, as usual. When will Paul give in to the authority of the modern church?

What the D’s do is take arguable prophetic passages and make them "literal," even if it goes against Paul himself. To them, these passages are perfectly clear when taken literally. For instance, they say if we look at Ezekiel 39, we see that Gog is Russia and they are going to attack Jewish Palestine and that the remaining Jews will use their weapons as fuel for seven years. Thus saith Hal Lindsey. How does this go against Paul? Paul said, "the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but spiritual…" He seemed totally unconcerned about Gog and Magog, weapons made of wood or even weapons made in the USA; he seemed to think that the Old Testament passages had to do with spiritual warfare.

Let us test the passages in light of the gospel. If we read Ezekiel "literally," then we find that Jesus is the Prince who is going to come, and that he and the rest of Palestine will be killing small sheep to make atonement for sin for a thousand years. During this time, he and his fellow Jews will be keeping Sabbaths and New Moons (read it for yourself in Ezekiel 45:17 in context, meaning include Ezekiel 39 while you’re at it).

Paul would be repulsed by such a turn against the gospel. But Dispensationalism does away with Paul’s interpretation. What good old sword-swinging oath-taking Hebrews did in the Old Testament by means of the flesh, God now accomplishes by loving Christians watching Bruce Wilkensen videos or reading his Prayer of Jabez. But that’s this dispensation. Wait until we get Gentile believers out of the way and put in some real Jews! Then there will be literal blood! Same God, different salvation plans. So this allows the Christians living in this dispensation (meaning D’s) to adapt the Old Testament writings whenever convenient to their means, as long as a literal Israel has a literal blowout with a literal Gog, leaving raptured D’s up in the air to contemplate their interpretation of Jesus’ second coming.

The D’s try to reinterpret plain New Testament writings by subjecting them to "literal" Old Testament writings. Thus they put the Old Testament in a superior position. The Jews of Jesus’ time fell into this error. Even though there was no New Testament, Jesus still upbraided them for not being able to discern the truth of the Messiah from their own writings. John 5:39. They would not, could not, come to Jesus because their hearts were hardened, read as they may of the future messianic kingdom of the Prince in Ezekiel 40-48. Darby took this whole passage literal and actually has a map of the future kingdom showing precisely where everything will be.

In the D’s mind there are two Israels: one literal; one spiritual. Literal, or real, Israel, is the chosen race of God. Spiritual, or symbolic, Israel, is what? Not real? Not genuine? Not the very chosen of God? The D puts real significance on the transitory nature of this age and tries to make the flesh the fulcrum of God’s purpose. The non-D just accepts the fact that there is neither Jew nor Gentile in the real realm of interpretation, which is the spirit. Flying against all logic and literalism, Paul says, "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God." Romans 2:28-29.

And there is only one plan, one method or one "content" of salvation, whether in the Garden of Eden, before the flood, after the flood before Abraham, before Moses, before Christ, before the end of the world, until the end of the world. "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things that now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things that angels desire to look into." 1 Peter 1:10-12.

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water." 1 Peter 3:18.

"They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the Gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." 1 Peter 4:5-6.

Some D will object: "But this book was written to the Jews scattered throughout the world and has only symbolic reference to us as Gentile believers." I say, read 1 Peter 2:10 and let the Bible interpret itself. If you insist on being "literal", I adjure you to read, once again, 2 Peter 1:20 "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation…" So, if you are a D or thinking of becoming one, know that even though you appear to be all-spiritual because you can correctly predict coming world events (ha!), you will severely hamper your spiritual growth, for our life is hidden with Christ in God and only the subtle mind of the Spirit can search this out.

Chris Simonson - 4/01/2008